A Simple Approach to Flies for Alaskan Salmon in August
Tying Rotobunnies, John Glaspy

All of the Rotabunnies use the same general tying steps.

1. Place a finished propeller hook with the desired color propeller and cone in the vise.

2. Tie in the marabou tail, length a little longer than the overall length of the hook. Because the tails are layered different colors of marabou, I find it easier to wet the marabou before tying each feather in place. Trim the butts where the lead and epoxy begin on the hook shank, to eliminate the bump on the shank of the finished propeller hook made by the lead wire and epoxy. Put several strands of Krystal Flash on each side of the tail and clip to varying lengths, no longer than marabou.

3. Tie on the tip of the appropriate color of UV Polar Chenille (Hareline Dubbin) over the last thread wrap covering the marabou, and wind two turns of this chenille, sweeping it back to lie over the marabou. Tie off and cut the chenille.

4.  Keeping the thread on the most posterior thread wrap over the Polar Chenille and marabou, cut a rabbit strip as long as the hook and marabou tail combined and tie it in place zonker style over the rear of the hook, leaving enough extending over the tail so that the rabbit fur extends to the end of the marabou.  Whip finish and cut thread.  Place a drop of cement over the thread wraps trying to avoid getting the lacquer on the rabbit and pull the front end of the rabbit strip (which should be long enough to reach the cone later) backward and hook it in the material holder until needed.

5. Restart the thread on the shank and tie in the body rabbit strip over the back of the hook and wind the thread forward to the back of the cone. Wind the body strip forward covering the shank from the posterior tie in over the lead and tie off behind the cone.  Cover this tie in with thread for one quarter I or so behind the cone.

6. Wet your fingers then part and separate the body rabbit fur over the top of the fly toward the two sides of the fly.  Pull the zonker rabbit strip forward over the top of the fly over the part you have created and tie it off over the body strip tie in area.  Cover the quarter inch thread base with thread, half hitch and cover wraps with head cement.  The rabbit strips are now secure and nearly indestructible.

7. Put dubbing on the thread, dub an egg over the thread wraps behind the cone, whip finish and cut thread.

 Making Propeller Hooks<<Previous Page                       Next Page>> Rotobunny Patterns